Zinedine Zidane has challenged David Beckham to swap the English Premiership for even greater riches in Italy's Serie A.

World player of the year Zidane said the Manchester United ace is among the players in the world and that a switch to one of Italy's giants would be the right move for both Beckham and Italian football. World Cup and Euro 2000 winner Zidane is a big admirer of the England captain and would love to pit his wits against him in Italy.

"David Beckham is one of the best players in the world," Zidane told The Sun. "Everyone has seen that from his performances with United and England over the last few years. I know there are a lot of teams in Italy who would be delighted to sign him and have him playing for them."

Zidane, 28, said that United would do all in their power to keep one of their hottest properties.

"But if they do (sell him) I would like to think David would take up the challenge and move to Italy.

"This is one of the best leagues in the world and I am sure David would be a very good player here."